Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (22 March 1869-6 February 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary and politician who served as President of the Philippines from 23 January 1899 to 23 March 1901. He was the first leader of a constitutional republic in Asia, and he led independence struggles against both Spain and the United States. After World War II, he was arrested as a Japanese collaborator, but he was later released and exonerated.

Biography
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was born in Cavite, Luzon, Philippines on 22 March 1869 to a family of mixed Tagalog and Chinese descent. He studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and he became an anti-Spanish activist, seeking to achieve Filipino independence. In 1896, he led a successful attack on a Spanish garrison at the outbreak of the Philippine War of Independence, and he became acknowledged as one of the nationalist leaders. He was elected president of the revolutionary government, and he was forced into exile when he was defeated by the Spanish. Aguinaldo was forced to turn to the United States for help, and the USA defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War. Aguinaldo proclaimed himself president in 1899, founding the Philippine Republic on 23 January 1900. With the USA showing no intention of withdrawing from its new colony, Aguinaldo turned against the United States, which soon defeated him and made him swear allegiance to the country. Aguinaldo retired into private life, and he unsuccessfully challenged Manuel Quezon during the 1935 presidential election as a socialist candidate. In 1945, he was accused of collaborating with the Japanese during World war II, and he was arrested; however, he never came to trial. He became a member of the Philippine Council of State, and he devoted the rest of his life to improving relations between the Philippines and the USA.